Roasted Jin Xuan Bug Bitten Oolong Tea
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Roasted Jin Xuan Bug Bitten Oolong Tea Harvest: Hand-picked, Region: Fenghuang Batch Size: Small small batch, winter 2015 Village. Taiwan Medium Oxidation. Elevation: 700m Medium Roast Flavor: Woodsy, apple pie aroma. Caramelized pecans, hint of smoke, smooth flavor. Bold, vibrant finish. THE UNIQUE CHARACTER OF We refrain from giving this batch the THIS BATCH OF TEA name Concubine Tea because it has a dierent flavor profile than the obvious This batch was procured from a friend honey notes that Concubine and in Lugu who is a professional tea judge, Oriental Beauty are known for oering organic tea farmer, and master roaster from late spring and summer harvests. who specializes in sourcing and roasting This winter batch of Jin Xuan has a batches of naturally cultivated character of its own, which embodies "bug-bitten tea". In other words, he is the Green Leaf Hopper eect in a specializing in the broad category of tea unique way. It has the substantial, that was given the name Concubine complex, deeper profile of a winter tea Oolong in Lugu, Taiwan — following the with subtle flavors resulting from the 9/21 earthquake in 1999. Concubine Tea bug-bitten eect. This, combined with a was derived from its predecessor discerning, medium roasting of the Oriental Beauty in northern Taiwan. The leaves over three sessions oers a signature characteristic of both of these satisfying brew with a distinct profile. teas being that the leaves have been aected by the Green Leaf Hopper Mr. Lee sourced this batch of tea from a (Jacobiasca formosana or 茶小綠葉蟬) in friend's winter 2015 harvest because he their early growth stage. This results in a specializes in "bug-bitten tea". This is a stunted growth of the leaf involving category of tea that goes beyond the partial oxidation while the leaf is still standard specialty classifications of growing. The immune system response cultivar, terrior, heirloom strain, and from the plant results in an altered traditional processing methods. This chemical composition in the leaf that "bug-bitten eect" is highly produces a hearty character and unpredictable due to the fact that it is typically a honey essence flavor. not possible to control the extent of the Generally, a more complex, substantial Green Leaf Hopper's eect on the character results from natural farming, organically grown tea leaves. Literally, which often includes the participation of each leaf is aected dierently. the Green Leaf Hopper. Consequently, this batch-specific condition of the harvested leaves www.eco-cha.com | [email protected] | facebook.com/ecocha | @ecochateas Roasted Jin Xuan Bug Bitten Oolong Tea Harvest: Hand-picked, Region: Fenghuang Batch Size: Small small batch, winter 2015 Village. Taiwan Medium Oxidation. Elevation: 700m Medium Roast Flavor: Woodsy, apple pie aroma. Caramelized pecans, hint of smoke, smooth flavor. Bold, vibrant finish. requires risk-taking, intuitive skills in We have a pointed interest in processing that are on a completely supporting specialty tea production dierent level of tea making than any that involves natural cultivation and standard production of tea. This is why skilled processing methods. This is the we hold this type of tea in highest crux of artisan tea. We found a batch of esteem. It is by definition a tea from the most recent winter harvest batch-specific, local specialty that that represents this, and are excited to involves innovative methods of oer it our club members who have production to make a tea that no one made a commitment to having a share else can replicate because the leaves in our exploration of teas that are not have been "custom-made" by the Green found elsewhere. Leaf Hopper. Beyond the natural cultivation methods This type of tea originally became employed by local, family-run farms famous under the name Oriental Beauty, who have generations of experience in which is a regional specific tea traditional tea making, we are also produced in northern Taiwan. In the last interested in the specialized production 15 years or so, tea producers all over of Jin Xuan tea. This is a hybrid strain of Taiwan have been cautiously exploring Qing Xin Oolong cross-bred with the the natural production of tea that naturally occurring wild tea tree in involves the participation of the Green Taiwan that possesses inherent immune Leaf Hopper. We are dedicated fans of system genetic traits that allow it to this exploration. We can only believe thrive in the local environment. Only in that this was the way tea was produced recent years has this strain begun to be before modern agriculture, involving made as a traditional Oolong rather pest control with the objective of than the minimally oxidized, unroasted maximum yield and consistency. While tea. In our experience, Jin Xuan excels in this is a valid agricultural goal that these traditional production methods. allows for responsible production, it is When Jin Xuan tea leaves are very dierent from traditionally made, suciently oxidized and roasted to the pre-modern tea production. appropriate degree — according to seasonal conditions, it oers a fine www.eco-cha.com | [email protected] | facebook.com/ecocha | @ecochateas Roasted Jin Xuan Bug Bitten Oolong Tea Harvest: Hand-picked, Region: Fenghuang Batch Size: Small small batch, winter 2015 Village. Taiwan Medium Oxidation. Elevation: 700m Medium Roast Flavor: Woodsy, apple pie aroma. Caramelized pecans, hint of smoke, smooth flavor. Bold, vibrant finish. quality, substantial brew that stands finesse is warranted in processing this apart from the "green Oolong" that has winter batch of naturally grown Jin been popularized by large scale tea Xuan leaves exhibiting the rare seasonal production. We are excited to introduce presence of the Green Leaf Hopper. Jin Xuan Oolong as a traditionally made tea rather than a minimally processed This month's batch is exciting because it tea in order to let you know what is embodies all the main aspects of what involved in the making of an artisan tea. Eco-Cha strives to represent. It was cultivated on a residential farm, it's a This month's batch of tea is from the small harvest, it was processed using recent winter harvest of a plot of Jin traditional methods, and it was naturally Xuan tea grown in Fenghuang Village, cultivated. All this adds up to Taiwan. The farmer decided to go sustainable practice in preserving the organic after last spring's harvest. So no local specialty tea industry by providing chemical products have been used on tea lovers with what you want — quality, these plants since last spring. That unique types of tea. means two (summer and fall) seasons of naturally grown leaves were harvested before this batch. The special aspect of this batch is that it is a winter crop that was aected by the Leaf Hopper. This is a rare occurrence that only a few tea makers are interested in. It's a complicated combination of factors to take on in the processing of such a crop. Winter tea is generally less prone to higher levels of oxidation due to a lower moisture content in the leaf based on seasonal growing conditions. On the other hand, bug-bitten leaves are found to have optimal results when suciently oxidized — up to 40%. So, www.eco-cha.com | [email protected] | facebook.com/ecocha | @ecochateas .